Got Lung Cancer Risk Factors? Screening May Save Your Life

It’s good to be proactive about your health, especially when it comes to your lungs. If you currently smoke or used to smoke, you have one of the main lung cancer risk factors.

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, accounting for one-fifth of all cancer-related deaths. Knowing your risk and undergoing an annual lung cancer screening can help find cancer before coughing, chest pain and other symptoms appear.

“Lung cancer often develops and grows long before any clues are present,” says Dr. John Krcmarik, a board-certified, fellowship-trained pulmonologist and intensivist at Beaufort Memorial Pulmonary Specialists. “By the time symptoms appear, it may have spread to the bones or other organs, making it much harder to treat. If we can find and treat it early, you’re more likely to have a successful result. Low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans, which are better at detecting cancer early compared to a simple chest X-ray, can help us diagnose lung cancer when it’s small and symptom-free.”

Read More: The Top 5 Reasons to Quit Smoking

Other Lung Cancer Risk Factors

Smoking cigarettes is the top cause of lung cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that smokers are 15–30 times more likely to experience lung cancer or lung cancer death than nonsmokers.

Additional risk factors for lung cancer include the following:

• Environment — Certain environmental hazards can lead to lung cancer in exposed people. These hazards include excess air pollution, radon gas, asbestos, diesel exhaust and arsenic.
• Health history — If you’ve experienced radiation therapy to the chest, you are at a higher risk of developing lung cancer. Your risk also increases with a personal or family history of lung cancer. This increased risk may come from genetics or shared environmental factors.
• Other tobacco products — Using tobacco in pipes or cigars also increases your risk of developing lung cancer.
• Secondhand smoke — People who smoke aren’t the only ones affected by cigarettes. If you’re exposed to tobacco smoke at home or work, you’re at increased risk of lung cancer.
• Supplements — Strangely, smokers who take beta carotene supplements have an even higher risk of lung cancer.

If you have one or more of these risk factors, you may benefit from a lung cancer screening.

Read More: Can Vaping Cause Lung Cancer? What We Know So Far

How Screening Helps Detect Lung Cancer

The average age at which lung cancer is diagnosed is around age 70. By then, you may notice some of the early signs of lung cancer, such as:

• Chest pain that worsens with deep breathing or laughing
• Frequent bronchitis, pneumonia or other infections
• Hoarseness
• Persistent cough that may include blood
• Unexplained weight loss
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness or tiredness
• Wheezing

With a low-dose CT screening for lung cancer, your provider can detect the disease when you don’t have symptoms. The test uses X-ray and computer technology to take pictures of your lungs. It’s quick and noninvasive, and you don’t have to do anything to prepare. Though you receive a small amount of radiation during the screening, it’s less than the exposure from a regular CT scan.

During your screening, an expert looks for tiny lung growths. Known as lung nodules, most aren’t a cause for concern. If a screening finds a nodule, additional imaging scans and tests can help determine whether it’s a type of lung cancer. This helps lead to early detection and treatment, increasing your odds of survival.

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When Lung Cancer Risk Factors Point to Screening

Helpful as lung cancer screening is, it’s not for everyone. Your primary care provider can help you decide whether yearly screenings are right for you based on your lung cancer risk factors and other criteria.

To be a candidate for screening, you shouldn’t have any signs or symptoms of lung cancer. You’ll also need to meet the guidelines set by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which are:

• Being 50 to 80 years old
• Being a current or former smoker
• Smoking for at least 20 pack years, which means smoking an average of one pack per day for 20 years or two packs daily for 10 years

If you think screening would be useful, contact your primary care provider. This medical professional can help weigh the benefits of lung cancer screening and provide smoking cessation resources. Your provider will also provide a referral for the screening. Medicare and most private insurance plans cover the screening, though you may have to cover part of the cost out of pocket.

Read More: Could It Be COPD?

The Lung Cancer Screening Experience

“Getting a lung cancer screening is simple,” Dr. Krcmarik says. “You lie on your back on a table that slides into the CT scanner, which is a big O-shaped machine. Inside, a tube captures X-ray images of your body at different angles, and a computer uses the information to produce pictures of your lungs. After a minute or so, the scan finishes. It’s a small investment of your time with a potentially priceless payoff.”

Once the screening is completed, you return to normal life. Your primary care provider will contact you to discuss the screening results when they’re available. If the images show potential nodules, your provider will refer you to a pulmonologist for a consultation. Additional testing, such as a biopsy, may be required to diagnose cancer.

Read More: How Smoking Affects Your Heart

What to Know and Do About Lung Cancer Risk Factors

You use your lungs every moment of every day. Protecting them from lung cancer risk factors is important for maintaining good health for years to come.

1. Along with smoking cigarettes, pipes and cigars, other lung cancer risk factors include exposure to secondhand smoke or dangerous chemicals.
2. If you have risk factors for lung cancer, a low-dose CT scan may help identify cancer before it causes symptoms, such as a persistent cough.
3. Lung cancer screening is helpful for those between the ages of 50 and 80 who have a 20-year pack history and no symptoms. The simple example is a useful tool for detecting cancer before it spreads.

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